The camels can chug more than 50 gallons of water in three minutes and their thirst often leads to problems. Sometimes when large numbers of feral camels converge on a small waterhole, the first animals get mired in the holes and die, fouling the water and destroying the waterhole completely. These waterholes are critical resources for humans and native birds and animals.

“There’s no way you’re ever going to eradicate them,” said Murray McGregor of Curtin University in Perth, whose research estimated their numbers. “The key thing is to keep the number controlled to minimize the environmental and cultural damage.”

Since the sight launched earlier this month, there have been roughly 150 sightings.